Cohasset to become Mass. Compact Community

Cohasset is en route to becoming a Compact Community, which will open the town up to grants and other assistance from the state of Massachusetts.

In January 2015, Governor Charlie Baker established the Community Compact Cabinet in order to strengthen partnerships between the administration and municipalities. Since then, more than 40 community compacts have been signed to promote improvements throughout Massachusetts.

“The goal is for communities to partner with the State on best practices,” explained Town Manager Chris Senior, with an emphasis on “things that will implement the Board of Selectmen’s goals and objectives.”

The state offers incentives for communities that join the effort, including a grant program for Compact Communities, extra points on certain grants, and technical resources from the Commonwealth to help communities achieve their goals.

Senior said that Cohasset’s first move would be to take advantage of technical assistance to start digitizing records through document imaging. Cyber security will be another immediate focus.

Other best practices are already in the works, such as the new town website rolling out this month and a visual budget presentation.

Through the program, the Town will continue to improve its GIS (geographic information system) database by inviting a flyover. Senior said this bird’s-eye-view will help with infrastructure and building planning.

More than 125 cities and towns are in the Compact Communities application process, including Hingham. Senior estimated that the process would be complete in about a month, at which time Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito will likely come out to make awards to all new South Shore Compact Communities in a single ceremony.

Look for more on this topic in an upcoming edition of the Mariner. Follow Amanda on Twitter for updates: @MarinerAmandaT